A seed planted in Bogue Chitto, a life saved in Mississippi.

It would take a long time for the effects of the BogueChitto/Lincoln County Community Center’s planned community gardento have an impact so great, but the Alcorn State UniversityExtension Service is aiming for just that mark.

The college has adopted community gardens as a long-term projectto encourage healthy eating among Mississippi’s black citizens. Itplans to use the Bogue Chitto garden as a pilot program to spreadcommunity gardens across the state.

ASU Extension Service Regional Coordinator Gerald Jones said hewould be with the group throughout the process, doling outtechnical assistance and constructing a blueprint to help set upother community gardens in the future.

“With minority groups, we’re not eating healthy food, and we’reseeing an increase in chronic diseases. If we train and teach thesecommunities how to grow and eat fresh food, we feel we can reducethe spread of these diseases,” he said.

According to Alcorn’s research, one-third of Mississippi’sminority population is obese, Jones said, and healthy diets are fewand far between.

Ironically, grocery stores in rural agricultural areas likeLincoln County have less to offer on the produce aisle, with 85percent of vegetables found there lacking in variety and freshness.The freshest produce is found in urban area grocery stores, hesaid.

Promoting community gardens will give people much greater accessto fresh, healthy foods, Jones said. Increasing the number ofgardeners in the state is the way to go.

Jones said the extension service would help the community centerplan and execute its garden, engaging in the process from seed toharvest to farmers market. The service will help design the grid,assist in choosing the best crops for each season and supplypesticides, herbicides and fertilizer.

When it comes harvest time, Jones will bring in nutritionspecialists to discuss the various foods in a classroom setting.Marketing help will be provided when the group is ready to take thefruits and vegetables of its labor to the Brookhaven FarmersMarket.

Dr. Drew Bates, the area horticulturist with Mississippi StateUniversity Extension Service, chipped in his expertise at Thursdaynight’s community center meeting, providing more than one hour’sworth of information on garden management. He said plantingcommunity gardens is growing in popularity in Mississippi.

“There’s been an increase in community gardens just in the lastyear or two,” Bates said. “It brings people in the communitytogether, it utilizes the resources of a community, saves money andincreases the nutritional value of the foods they eat.”

At 73, Norfield’s Shirley McGowan has been in the garden before- many times. She’s looking forward to starting the communitygarden, not for nutrition or money at the farmers market, but toget local children involved. She complained about the youngergeneration’s lack of outdoor knowledge, saying it was up to seniorslike her to pass on the age-old skills.

“Our young generation doesn’t know anything about planting orworking on their own, so let’s put ‘em out there and show them howto grow,” McGowan said.